THE AUTO SCANNER: There's a sticker scam afoot

Thursday

Nov 16, 2017 at 8:00 AM

Your car care questions answered by repair expert Larry Rubenstein.

By Larry Rubenstein scanauto@aol.com

Q: Recently, I had to get a Mass. inspection sticker fast, since the sticker on the car was almost three months past due. The place I usually take my vehicles to couldn’t get me in that day, so I went to the local dealership (the same dealership I bought the car from).

After waiting 20 minutes, the service manager came out and told me they couldn’t give me a sticker until $1,600 of work was done. This included exhaust work, front-end work and engine work. The dealership wouldn’t even give me a rejection sticker. I refused the work and left.

The next day I took the car to my regular mechanic for a sticker. I passed with no problems. When I asked if they could look at the problems specified by the dealership, they informed me “no problems existed that would disqualify me from getting a sticker."

My question is, is this legal? If I couldn’t pass the inspection, shouldn’t I have received a rejection sticker? If this was some sort of scam, who can I contact about this? Thanks Steve.

A: Either your regular mechanic is not checking the car properly or the dealership was trying to rip you off. This is very clear. The only resolution would be to go to the Registry of Motor Vehicles and tell them your story. They will most likely send your car to a state-run facility for re-testing.

One of the testing facilities needs to be taken to task for not doing a responsible state inspection. You can make a difference if you follow through with my recommendations.

Q: I am having a problem with my 1999 Honda Accord, which has been very good to me and I still love driving it. I have started to notice a buildup of water in the back brake light when it rains. When I open and lift the trunk, the water comes pouring out of the opening where you would change the bulb.

I have taking the whole light off to see if maybe the seam had a crack and could not find one, I even caulked all around the seam and put the light back, and it still fills with water when it rains. My question is, what do I need to do to stop the water from getting in before it shorts out the entire light? Hope you can help. Thank you. -- Nancy C.

A: I would find the leak on your taillight like I would find the leak on a tire. I would remove the tail light assembly from the car, spray the tail light assembly with soapy water, plug all of the bulb holes except one, and put around 14 pounds of air pressure into the open light socket, making as tight of a fit as possible. When you see the bubbles appear at a seam or on the back of the housing, you have located the leak.

Car Care Tip: Once a month a complete car bulb check is recommended. It only takes a few minutes and it can save you hundreds of dollars in fines from observant law enforcement, as well as letting the drivers around you know of your intentions.

Submit car questions to scanauto@aol.com. For more tips and seasonal articles, visit Rte. 1 Auto Service's Facebook page at facebook.com/Rte-1-Auto-Service, or the shop's website at rte1autoservice.com. You can hear Larry and his son Scott on WBZ's NightSide.